A day for the history books.

The election of Howard Dean as Democratic Party Chairman makes the party’s transition to the underworld both markedly clear and undeniable. The Democrats have turned to far-left socialism and will not turn back. Although a surprise to many, those of us who oppose this socialist creep are, outside the walls of Columbia, the majority.

Some 40 years ago, Ronald Reagan made the same observation at the height of the failed “War on Poverty.” He cited a depression-era politician, “Mr. Democrat” himself, Al Smith, who, “came before the American people and charged that the leadership of his party was taking the party of Jefferson, Jackson, and Cleveland down the road under the banners of Marx, Lenin, and Stalin. And he walked away from his party, and he never returned until the day he died—because to this day, the leadership [is taking that] honorable party down the road in the image of the labor Socialist Party of England.” The Democrats cannot and will not win any election outside of San Francisco and Vermont until they make a concerted effort to change, to truly make a move to the center and not just take radical liberals and rewrite their careers. Democrats and Republicans alike must admit, Dean is not the man to accomplish this. Dean may be able to raise money from his base of ideological cohorts, but as we all saw in Iowa (a sad finish in third), he cannot even connect with his own party—never mind American voters. As the leader and spokesman of a party in shambles, Dean will continue to push left, issue press blackouts and make idiotic comments (apparently in Dean’s world everyone in the South drives pickups and all minorities work as hotel staff) and in doing so, further ruin an organization established long ago to actually protect man’s rights from an overbearing state.

As a solution for Democrats, I propose an alternative to Flaxman’s vision: “more talk and more activism.” Take action to help the candidates you support, but also talk more with Democrats that you disagree with, even when they diverge from the party line. Accept their differences as legitimate. Rather than deny their existence, openly debate their ideas. More importantly, in pursuing your own efforts, do not try to stifle theirs.

Upon becoming Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean outlined his vision of the Democratic Party, noting that “We all know that we’re the party of the big tent and new ideas.” In light of the Democrats for Bloomberg debacle, I say to those in the College Democrats: prove it.